Surgery center owners see many positive headwinds over the next year, but there are also challenges. Here are five pieces of good news and five pieces of bad news to know.

Here are eight updates from some of the largest ASC chains in the U.S. over the last 89 days:

Urgent care physician Josef Schenker, MD, and the two New York City urgent care facilities he owns, are paying $564,217 to settle allegations they submitted false claims to CMS for services not provided when administering COVID-19 vaccines and tests, the Justice Department said April 27.

Riverside (Calif.) County, which owns Riverside University Health System Medical Center, is paying $12 million to settle a lawsuit alleging hospital staff botched an intubation that caused a patient permanent brain damage, The Press-Enterprise reported April 27.

Investment in an ASC is a long-term strategy for physicians, particularly those not employed by a hospital, to thrive financially and gain more control over their day-to-day workflow. 

Fifteen percent of physicians participate in value-based payment models, according to Medscape's "Physician Compensation Report 2022," released April 15. Value-based care is gaining momentum in the ASC industry as a means to reduce costs. 

Chicago White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez underwent surgery April 26 at the Rush Oak Brook (Ill.) Surgery Center, according to the Daily Herald. 

A former physician in El Paso, Texas, agreed to pay $350,000 to settle allegations that he didn't account for more than 11,000 opioid doses, the U.S. Justice Department said April 25.

Physicians' lack of time, particularly from administrative burdens from medical records, are harming their ability to provide patient care. 

A federal court dismissed a whistleblower's claims that Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System, its physician group and other affiliates schemed to overcompensate cardiologists for patient referrals, according to court documents filed April 25. 

More regulation and declining reimbursements from private payers are impeding many physicians' ability to provide care.  

Orthopedics and plastic surgery have been the top-earning physician specialties for the last five years, according to Medscape's annual physician compensation reports. 

Five updates from Oakland, Calif.-based health system Kaiser Permanente:

The hottest job markets right now are midsize cities poised for growth, according to The Wall Street Journal.

More physicians working in public health and preventive medicine report feeling fairly compensated than physicians in 28 other specialties, according to Medscape's "Physician Compensation Report 2022," released April 15. 

Physicians working in physician-owned practices are more likely to be satisfied with their EHRs, according to a study by researchers at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital published April 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Five COVID-19 updates from the last 10 days:

Self-employed physicians make 18 percent more than employed physicians, according to Medscape's "Physician Compensation Report 2022," released April 15. 

An Ohio appellate court affirmed a ruling earlier this year that a provision of a physician's noncompete contract was "partially unreasonable," JDSupra reported April 21. 

Paul Silva, MD, a San Antonio physician whose license has been suspended, was charged with illegal opioid distribution, San Antonio Express News reported April 21.